Okay, I confess…

The real reason I don’t watch sports is because I know darn well if I start watching I’ll not want to stop watching. I’m a writer, see, and that means I can’t ignore a story. Which is why it was so easy to hook me on a Cubs vs. Indians World Series story. I mean, really, when it comes to baseball, there isn’t a better story than the Cubs. They used to be awesome, and then…something happened… And 108 years later they’re still trying to claim even a smidgeon of their old glory.

But wait! A new hero arrives on the scene; a president of baseball operations (what a magical title!) who turned the Red Sox around and broke their curse, and now wants to do it for Chicago. Five years later the team he built is knocking at the door of history, with the only team standing in their way being the one with the second-longest championship dry spell. (I mean seriously! If there was ever compelling evidence for baseball being as scripted as any WWE match, this would be it! That’s just too much of a coincidence to be true!)

Joe Maddon

That was enough to start me watching in Game Three. And then I was introduced to the cast: Rizzo, Zobrist, Bryant, Russell, Contreras, Arrieta, Baez, Chapman, and others, led by the stoic Joe Maddon (who looks an awful lot like like Judd Hirsch if you ask me). Like any good characters, they had weaknesses, like a bullpen lacking in depth and several players in a slump offensively. After a few games they were facing elimination and would have to win three straight against an impressive and dominant Cleveland team, which hadn’t been done in over thirty years.

This is usually the point where reality triumphs over narrative and I return to my usual hobbies after a bruising defeat that reminds me once again why I don’t watch sports, just sports movies. The story doesn’t necessarily turn out the way it should. I approach every sporting event looking for the best story. Usually that means I stumble across a game already in play, check to see who is losing, and start cheering for them. Not a very scientific approach if I want to pick winners, unfortunately, but when it works it makes for a great story!

Judd Hirsch

Well, even I couldn’t ruin the Cubs’ story with my attention. They won game five, then game six (who knew that hanging onto a five-run lead could be so stressfully difficult to watch?!). Then came Game Seven. Part of me wanted the Cubs to just clobber Cleveland and be done with it. But the writer part of me wanted the story to end well, meaning “plucky band of adventurers overcome great odds to achieve the unthinkable”. (This did not endear me with my family, who just wanted the Cubs to blow Cleveland away and be done with it.)

I got both stories in one. At first it looked like the Cubs were going to make it look easy. But Cleveland played their part very well and kept chipping away at the Cubs’ lead until suddenly the game was tied and headed into extra innings–after a tension-building rain delay.

The Cubs pulled ahead again in the top of the tenth, but not by a comfortable margin. Not the way this series has been going. Cleveland started their own comeback and were poised to maybe even win, until…

The Cleveland batter hit a low, hard grounder near Third-baseman Byrant. You could see him start to smile as he scrambled in front of it, fielded it, and from his knees, launched it to First-baseman Rizzo, his grin widening and spreading to his entire body. He knew. They’d done it.

Terrific baseball. One heck of a story. At the end of the day it probably wasn’t worth staying up so late for, but then maybe it was. It’s the stories that go straight to our hearts that effect who we are, who we become. Does the Cubs winning the World Series change who I am? Well no, not really. But the story will stick with me for years to come, helping me hang on to the values of excellence, determination, faith, and teamwork.

The story couldn’t have been any better if someone had written it, and instead was only that much better because it really happened. It’s the Truth that validates the truths we tell ourselves in stories.

There is, of course, the other part of me that allows myself to see the other stories also going on. I am fully aware that so many other people were hoping to write a different story last night. And, frankly, it would be hard for me to offer a compelling argument against Cleveland deserving a better ending beyond sheer numerical values (108 years vs. 68 years). There are a lot of justifiably heartbroken Indians fans today, and my empathy goes out to them. Their team fought hard, and refused to give up. And should they make the Fall Classic next year I’ll gladly cheer for them. Their story will be all the more compelling in my mind now.

But today the day and “best sports story of the year” belongs to the Cubs. Thank you, gentlemen, for making me care and then delivering such an awesome story!